Autocracy, totalitarianism and dictatorship Books

Book SynopsisOne of the greatest, most radical public thinkers of our time' ARUNDHATI ROY In these incisive interviews, activist Chomsky addresses the urgent questions of this tumultuous time, speaking to the deterioration of democracy in the United States and rising tensions globally.He examines the crumbling of the social fabric and the fractures of the Biden era, including the halting steps toward a Green New Deal, the illegitimate authority of the Supreme Court, in particular its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and the ongoing fallout from COVID-19. Chomsky also untangles the roots of the War in Ukraine, the diplomatic tensions among the United States, China, and Russia, and considers the need for climate action on an international scale.Illegitimate Authority exposes those who wield power in their own self-interest and plots framework for how we can stand together and fight against injustice.''The West''s most prominent critic of US imperialism . . . the closest thing in the English-speaking world to an intellectual superstar'' Guardian''Will there ever again be a public intellectual who commands the attention of so many across the planet?'' New Statesman

Read more less

Book Synopsis''I am most grateful for two things: that I was born in North Korea, and that I escaped from North Korea.''Yeonmi Park was not dreaming of freedom when she escaped from North Korea. She didn''t even know what it meant to be free. All she knew was that she was running for her life, that if she and her family stayed behind they would die - from starvation, or disease, or even execution. This book is the story of Park''s struggle to survive in the darkest, most repressive country on earth; her harrowing escape through China''s underworld of smugglers and human traffickers; and then her escape from China across the Gobi desert to Mongolia, with only the stars to guide her way, and from there to South Korea and at last to freedom; and finally her emergence as a leading human rights activist - all before her 21st birthday.''Clear-eyed and devastating'' ObserverTrade ReviewClear-eyed and devastating. * Observer *One of the most harrowing stories I have ever heard - and one of the most inspiring . . . A book to make you newly thankful for the freedom you have never been forced to fight for. * The Bookseller *An eloquent, wrenchingly honest work that vividly represents the plight of many North Koreans. * Kirkus *

Read more less

Book SynopsisOffering a much-needed global perspective on the "dark side" of the internet, Digital Hate is a timely and critical look at the raging debates around online media's failed promises.Trade Review"Timely, original, and powerful, this anthology is packed with new insights about digital media and political cultures. Contributors comprise an interdisciplinary and international group of scholars grounded predominantly in anthropology and media studies. Their diverse studies in the global north and south approach extreme speech online as a cultural practice situated within wider social struggles. The collection reveals the dynamics of exclusionary politics that paradoxically thrive in the age of digital connectivity."—Victoria Bernal, author of Nation as Network: Diaspora, Cyberspace, and Citizenship, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine"This superb collection contains a number of stimulating contributions by authors from around the world. The introduction lays out the book's unique intellectual re-reading of online extreme speech, civility, and rationality. It offers insightful and innovative ways of understanding these issues from decolonial and ethnographically grounded approaches. This is the only book to connect history, colonial formations, and coloniality in the study of extreme speech in the digital age."—Sarah Chiumbu, Associate Professor, Department of Communication & Media, University of Johannesburg"How is the term 'hate speech' mobilized to further specific political ends, so deepening rather than alleviating inequalities in the public domain? This is the question that this highly sophisticated collection of essays addresses, drawing on a wide range of cases from Kenya to Chile, the Philippines to Germany. These deeply contextualized studies constitute a huge step forward in our understanding of the cultural and technological underpinnings of extreme speech on a global scale—a landmark study."—Nick Couldry, London School of Economics and Political ScienceTable of ContentsHate Cultures in the Digital Age: The Global Conjuncture of Extreme Speech, by Sahana Udupa, Iginio Gagliardone, and Peter HervikPart One: Extreme Speech as a Critique: Power and Agonism1. There's no such thing as hate speech and it's a good thing, too, by David Boromisza-Habashi2. The political trolling industry in Duterte's Philippines: Everyday work arrangements of disinformation and extreme speech, by Jonathan Corpus Ong3. It is Incivility, not hate speech: Application of Laclau and Mouffe's discourse theory to analysis of non-anthropocentric agency, by David Katiambo4. The moral economy of extreme speech: Resentment and anger in Indian minority politics, by Max KramerPart Two: Colloquialization of Exclusion5. Us and (((them))): Extreme memes and anti-Semitism on 4Chan, by Marc Tuters and Sal Hagen6. Nationalism in the digital age: Fun as a metapractice of extreme speech, by Sahana Udupa7. A presidential archive of lies: Racism, Twitter, and a history of the present, by Carole McGranahan8. Racialization, racism and anti-racism in Danish social media platforms, by Peter Hervik9. Follow the memes: On the construction of far-right identities online, by Amy C. Mack10. The politics of Muhei: Ethnic humor and Islamophobia on Chinese social media, by Gabriele de Seta11. Writing on the walls: Discourses on Bolivian immigrants in Chilean meme humor, by Nell HaynesPart Three: Organization and Disorganization12. Blasphemy accusations as extreme speech acts in Pakistan, by Jürgen Schaflechner13. Localized hatred: The importance of physical spaces within the German far-right online counterpublic on Facebook, by Jonas Kaiser14. "Motherhood" revisited: Pushing boundaries in Indonesia's online discourse, by Indah S. Pratidina15. Networks of political trolling in Turkey after the consolidation of power under the Presidency, by Erkan SakaContributors' BiographiesIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisArtists, theorists, activists, and scholars propose concrete forms of non-fascist living as the rise of contemporary fascisms threatens the foundations of common life.Propositions for Non-Fascist Living begins from the urgent need to model a world decidedly void of fascisms during a time when the rise of contemporary fascisms threatens the very foundations of a possibility for common life. Borrowing from Michel Foucault's notion of “non-fascist living” as an “art of living counter to all forms of fascism,” including that “in us all… the fascism that causes us to love power, to desire the very thing that dominates and exploits us,” the book addresses the practice of living rather than the mere object of life.Artists, theorists, activists, and scholars offer texts and visual essays that engage varied perspectives on practicing life and articulate methods that support multiplicity and difference rather than vaunting

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review‘An extraordinarily rich historical fresco, groundbreaking in many ways’—Chiara Saraceno, L’Indice dei libri del mese -- Chiara Saraceno * L'Indice die libri del mese *

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn incisive account of how Mussolini pioneered populism in reaction to Hitler’s rise—and thereby reinforced his role as a model for later authoritarian leadersTrade Review“Much attention has been paid to the populist politics of modern leaders such as Trump and Erdogan, and one of the many interesting strands of this new book is whether Mussolini might reasonably be considered the first such populist.”—BBC History Magazine“An engaging and persuasive guide…Bosworth is surely right when he argues, in this most enjoyable and wide-ranging book, that the word “facist” is used today too often and too loosely.”—Caroline Moorehead, Times Literary Supplement ‘In his inimitable style and with peerless erudition, Bosworth provides us with a passionately engaged history of a Mussolini and an Italy caught up in the monstrous gravitational waves engendered by the coming of Third Reich.’—Giuseppe Finaldi, author of Mussolini and Italian Fascism‘This trenchant, eminently readable, book is a convincing analysis of the decline and fall of Fascism. Its conclusion – that Mussolini’s Italy was a “weak regime that went to its collapse broadcasting fake news about itself” – ensures that the book also has a contemporary ring.’— Professor Mark Gilbert, Johns Hopkins University‘An original and fascinating analysis of the degeneration of the Italian Fascist regime in its last decade of peace, and of ‘the first modern dictator’s’ place in the broader context of contemporary history, especially in relation to present-day populist movements.’—John F. Pollard, author of The Vatican and Italian Fascism, 1929–32"At a time when the specter of fascism haunts contemporary society, Bosworth provides a timely reminder that populist bluster tends to mask profound inadequacies. Benito Mussolini may have been the first modern dictator, but he was also a failure who led his nation to catastrophe.”—Professor Joshua Arthurs, West Virginia University

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat does it mean when a radical understanding of National Socialism is inextricably embedded in the work of the twentieth century’s most important philosopher?Trade Review“[An] informed, richly documented study. . . . A timely reminder of the value of those social democratic and liberal traditions.”—Steven Aschheim, Times Literary Supplement“Combines close readings of Heidegger’s key writings with a rich cultural, literary and political history. . . . Wolin’s evidence-based work is its own riposte to the ludic mythomania of the philosopher’s political fanboys.”—Lyndsey Stonebridge, New Statesman“A timely work of enduring importance.”—Jeffrey Herf, Quillette“Wolin raises the discussion concerning Heidegger’s proximity to National Socialism to a new level. . . . Taken as a whole, [Wolin’s] volume is impressive for its thoroughgoing, source-related approach . . . as well as its detailed and profound knowledge of German intellectual and cultural history.”—Lukas Bormann, Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte“One of Richard Wolin’s merits is that he does not fear the Heidegger apology industry. Instead, we receive an extremely convincing ‘accident report’ on a ‘Philosophy in Ruins,’ an analysis of the entire work. . . . Heidegger’s National Socialism was not external and temporary. His apocalyptic philosophical self-understanding speaks for itself.”—Fredrik Agell, Dagens Nyheter (Stockholm)“Heidegger in Ruins is an uncompromising and incisive reassessment of Heidegger’s philosophy. Wolin convincingly demonstrates that he differed from his ideological competitors only in his more radical vision of a racial elect. Today, Heideggerianism survives in a variety of contemporary new right thinkers from Moscow to Charlottesville.”—Anson Rabinbach, Princeton University“For three decades, Richard Wolin has battled strong headwinds to demonstrate the links between Heidegger’s vile politics and his sublime philosophy. Wolin’s latest effort shows that the winds have shifted and the mighty fortress built by Heidegger and his defenders has been blown away.”—Martin Jay, author of Genesis and Validity“Richard Wolin’s detailed and powerful analysis will be a widely read and widely discussed contribution to the debate over Heidegger and Nazism.”—Alan E. Steinweis, author of Studying the Jew: Scholarly Antisemitism in Nazi Germany

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn incisive account of Erdoğan’s Turkey—showing how its troubling transformation may be short-livedTrade Review“A particular strength of [Bechev’s] book is that he does not attribute Turkey’s turn from democracy exclusively to Erdoğan, but emphasises ‘the authoritarian legacies shaping the state,’ rooted in the Ottoman Empire and in the long rule of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the modern secular republic in 1923 and held power until his death in 1938.”—Tony Barber, Financial Times“A scholar unafraid of a good turn of phrase is a welcome thing, albeit rare. Dr Bechev is a scholar and has a good turn of phrase. His expertise guides us through what is a thicket of events, dates, underlying trends, and acronyms, but just when, at times, the going becomes difficult a turn of phrase chops through the text and opens up his train of thought.”—Tim Marshall, Reaction“A sweeping attempt to capture the last 20 years of Turkey, Bechev skilfully traces the radical transformation of Turkey’s domestic and foreign policies under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. An outstanding book from one of the best.”—Gönül Tol, Middle East Institute“A compelling narrative, rich in anecdotes, quotes, and carefully chosen empirical examples, enlivens an in-depth historical analysis of Turkey’s evolution from the 1970s until today. Bechev charts Turkey’s modernization, the rise of Islamist populism, its geopolitical shift from the periphery of the West to its bid for regional hegemony, as well as the weaknesses of the competitive authoritarian regime that its President Erdoğan has crafted.”—Rosa Balfour, director, Carnegie Europe“Bechev analyzes the two decades that witnessed the evolution of President Erdoğan from a seemingly EU-friendly ‘Muslim democrat’ to a strongman. He masterfully portrays how the shifts in AKP’s foreign policy were intertwined with rising authoritarian practices in Turkey.”—Ayşe Kadıoğlu, Sabancı University

Read more less

Book SynopsisStories of transnational terror and justice illuminate the past and present of South America’s struggles for human rights.Trade Review“[A] vital two-part study. . . . [Lessa’s] painstaking work on Plan Condor and Latin America’s state criminality is both admirable and important.”—Miranda France, Times Literary Supplement“Accessible despite its legal components, the book sheds light on the struggle for justice and human rights in South America. As our reviewer rightly praises, Lessa usefully anchors the book in its Latin American context, and away from historiographic preoccupations with the US role.”—Mariana Vieira, International Affairs Blog“This book is a homage to the remarkable efforts of many individuals outraged by these crimes to bring the perpetrators to justice.”—Gavin O’Toole, Latin American Review of Books“The level of detail Lessa provides . . . is, simply put, astounding. And her especially insightful treatment of justice seekers . . . who spearheaded innovative legal strategies to hold perpetrators accountable speaks to the text’s deeper stakes.”—Max Counter, Journal of Latin American Geography“The sophistication of Lessa’s interdisciplinary method shines through in the book’s detailed content and nuanced arguments.”—Alison J. Bruey, H-Net Network on Latin American HistoryHonorable Mention received for the Bryce Wood Book Award, sponsored by the Latin American Studies AssociationWinner of the 2023 Juan E. Méndez Book Award for Human Rights in Latin America, sponsored by the Duke Human Rights Center at the Franklin Humanities Institute“Lessa’s exploration of transnational repression in 1970s South America could not be more current in these days of resurgent authoritarianism. Her analysis of the Condor period is groundbreaking and documents both the human rights crimes and the efforts of international ‘justice seekers’ to breach—eventually—the dictatorships’s impunity.”—John Dinges, author of Hunting Enemies Abroad“There is no other book that combines a decade of research on Operation Condor and transnational repression by the South American military regimes with synthesis of the literature on efforts to achieve accountability for human rights violations and analysis of the prosecutions in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Italy.”—Brian Loveman, San Diego State University“This gripping account of Operation Condor breaks important new ground in our understanding of complex justice processes for grave human rights violations. Lessa’s analysis of ‘justice seekers’ highlights the central role of victims in transitional and transnational justice processes. Most importantly, she centers the deeply moving stories of the victims of Operation Condor, whose lives were forever altered by transnational state terror.”—Jo-Marie Burt, George Mason University

Read more less

Book SynopsisA close-up look at the cloistered country (USA Today), See You Again in Pyongyang is American writer Travis Jeppesen''s probing and artful (New York Times Book Review) chronicle of his travels in North Korea--an eye-opening portrait that goes behind the headlines about Trump and Kim, revealing North Koreans'' entrepreneurial spirit, and hidden love of foreign media, as well as their dreams and fears (Los Angeles Times). In See You Again in Pyongyang, Travis Jeppesen, the first American to complete a university program in North Korea, culls from his experiences living, traveling, and studying in the country to create a multifaceted portrait of the country and its idiosyncratic capital city in the Kim Jong Un Era. Anchored by the experience of his five trips to North Korea and his interactions with citizens from all walks of life, Jeppesen takes readers behind the propaganda, showing how the North Korean system actually works in daily life. He challenges the notion that Pyongyang is merely a showcase capital where everything is staged for the benefit of foreigners, as well as the idea that Pyongyangites are brainwashed robots. Jeppesen introduces readers to an array of fascinating North Koreans, from government ministers with a side hustle in black market Western products to young people enamored with American pop culture. With unique personal insight and a rigorous historical grounding, Jeppesen goes beyond the media cliches, showing North Koreans in their full complexity. See You Again in Pyongyang is an essential addition to the literature about one of the world''s most fascinating and mysterious places.

Read more less

Book SynopsisUnder the dictatorships of the twentieth century, music never ceased to sound. Even when they did not impose aesthetic standards, these regimes tended to favour certain kinds of art music such as occasional works for commemorations or celebrations, symphonic poems, cantatas and choral settings. In the same way, composers who were more or less ideologically close to the regime wrote pieces of music on their own initiative, which amounted to a support of the political order. This book presents ten studies focusing on music inspired and promoted by regimes such as Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, France under Vichy, the USSR and its satellites, Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal, Maoist China, and Latin-American dictatorships. By discussing the musical works themselves, whether they were conceived as ways to provide music for the people, to personally honour the dictator, or to participate in State commemorations of glorious historical events, the book examines the relationship betwTrade Review'Ten fascinating narratives are presented here about the function of state music in a wider range of twentieth-century dictatorships. An international roster of distinguished authors ensures the most detailed study of this subject thus far. This unique volume clarifies how music was used to present the public face of state sanctioned propaganda.' - Patricia Hall, University of Michigan, USA'These essays, surveying musical works that span five decades and three continents, shed light on creations generally overlooked by virtue of their being "tainted" because they were commissioned by dictatorships. Instead of shunning these works, the essays explore the complex interactions of the state, the composers, and the public and offer new paths toward dissecting notions of creative autonomy in the twentieth century.' - Pamela Potter, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA"Composing for the State [offers] ten case studies grounded in original research on the subject of music and twentieth-century dictatorships. Geographically, the scope is also wider, encompassing work not just on Europe but also on Latin America and China. And yet, its central question is not too far removed from Riley and Smith’s: How do we understand music commissioned by the state when that state is a dictatorship? In their introduction, the editors usefully suggest that these compositions should not simply be written off as propaganda. Instead, we should explore them, their genesis, and their reception both to enrich our comprehension of cultural life and net-works under dictatorships and, more broadly, to investigate further music’s role in the construction and perseverance of such political regimes." - Anthony J. Steinholff, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada"...the chapters in this collection help to set the record straight about the relationship between music and politics in an admirable number of contexts." -Lindsay Carter, University of Bristol"While many readers will wish to consult this book for its rather specialist case studies (aided by the detailed index), the most pertinent of the chapters here raise questions that can be traced across decades of scholarship. Buch’s and Frolova-Walker’s chapters stand out as particularly urgent contributions, raising questions that help to show the potential scope of this area of enquiry. " -Daniel Elphick, Oxford Academic'Ten fascinating narratives are presented here about the function of state music in a wider range of twentieth-century dictatorships. An international roster of distinguished authors ensures the most detailed study of this subject thus far. This unique volume clarifies how music was used to present the public face of state sanctioned propaganda.' - Patricia Hall, University of Michigan, USA'These essays, surveying musical works that span five decades and three continents, shed light on creations generally overlooked by virtue of their being "tainted" because they were commissioned by dictatorships. Instead of shunning these works, the essays explore the complex interactions of the state, the composers, and the public and offer new paths toward dissecting notions of creative autonomy in the twentieth century.' - Pamela Potter, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA"...the chapters in this collection help to set the record straight about the relationship between music and politics in an admirable number of contexts." -Lindsay Carter, University of BristolTable of ContentsEsteban Buch, Igor Contreras Zubillaga and Manuel Deniz Silva – ‘State Music’ and Dictatorship: an IntroductionPart 1: Music for the People1. Yannick Simon Music and the Vichy Regime through Jeune France’s Three Joan-of-Arc Productions (1941)2. Analía Chernavsky The ‘Dança da Terra' Issue’ (1943): Heitor Villa-Lobos and the Vargas Dictatorship3. Hon-lun Yang Unravelling The East Is Red (1964): Socialist Music and Politics in the People’s Republic of ChinaPart 2: Composing for the Dictator4. Katherine L. FitzGibbon (Lewis&Clark College, Portland) – Gottfried Müller’s Deutsches Heldenrequiem (1934): Nazi Ideology Cloaked in Historic Style5. Justine Comtois Alfredo Casella’s Il deserto tentato (1937): an Opera Dedicated to Benito Mussolini6. Marina Frolova-Walker A Birthday Present for Stalin: Shostakovich’s Song of the Forests (1949)7. Andrzej Tuchowski ‘State music’ in Poland under the Stalinist Regime: Alfred Gradstein’s Cantata A Word about Stalin (1951)Part 3: State Commemorations8. Manuel Deniz Silva Salazar’s dictatorship and the paradoxes of State music: Luís Freitas Branco’s ill-fated Solemn Overture 1640 (1939)9. Igor Contreras Zubillaga El Concierto de la Paz (1964): Three Commissions to Celebrate 25 Years of Francoism10. Esteban Buch Conquistadores, Indians, and Argentine Generals: Iubilum op. 51, a Commission to Alberto Ginastera (1980).Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book explores the role of religion in the transformation of Turkey under the reign of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party. It attempts to come to terms with the current political crisis in Turkey and the government’s move toward authoritarianism.Table of Contents1. Faulty Assumptions about Democratization in Turkey 2. Populism and the Politics of Belonging in Erdoğan’s Turkey 3. Understanding Contemporary Turkey’s Nostalgia for the Ottoman Empire and Neo-Ottomanist Approaches in Turkish Politics 4. Governing Anxiety, Trauma, and Crisis: The Political Discourse on Ontological (In)security after the July 15 Coup Attempt in Turkey 5. The Evolving Kurdish Question in Turkey 6. Positive and Negative Diaspora Governance in Context: From Public Diplomacy to Transnational Authoritarianism 7. Transformation of Turkish Foreign Policy towards Syria: The Return of Securitization 8. The Turkish-Armenian Historical Controversy: How to Name the Events of 1915?

Read more less

Book Synopsis"Brilliant, beautifully organized, exceedingly readable."—Philip Roth

Read more less

Book SynopsisFirst published in France in 2001, Sandrine Kott’s book examines how East German businesses and government carried out communist practices on a daily basis and how citizens and workers experienced the conditions created by the totalitarian state in their daily lives. Kott undertakes a social analysis of the Communist Party’s grasp on state enterprises and the limits of its power.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe 1973 military coup in Chile deposed the democratically elected Salvador Allende and installed a dictatorship that terrorized the country for almost twenty years. This title examines cultural sites and representations in postdictatorship Chile - what the author calls "memory symbolics" - to uncover the impact of state-sponsored violence.Trade Review"This book is a solid and original contribution to the expanding work on the construction of memory in Chile." The AmericasTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. Ice and Political Heat: Cultural Memory Mediates the Past 2. Searching for Villa Grimaldi: Memory's Democratic Promise 3. Making Torture Visible: The Art of Guillermo Nunez in Chile's Transition 4. Documenting Absence: Ghostly Screens Unsettle the Past 5. Doubling 9/11: Exile Culture and Activism Conclusion: Rivers of Memory Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThere is no better book on fascism's complex and vexed relationship with truth.Jason Stanley, author ofHow Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them In this short companion to his bookFrom Fascism to Populism in History, world-renowned historian Federico Finchelstein explains why fascists regarded simple and often hateful lies as truth, and why so many of their followers believed the falsehoods. Throughout the history of the twentieth century, many supporters of fascist ideologies regarded political lies as truth incarnated in their leader. From Hitler to Mussolini, fascist leaders capitalized on lies as the base of their power and popular sovereignty. This history continues in the present, when lies again seem to increasingly replace empirical truth. Now that actual news is presented as fake news and false news becomes government policy,A Brief History of Fascist Lies urges us to remember that the current talk of post-truth has a long political and intellectual lineage that we cannot ignore.Table of ContentsContents Preface to the Paperback Edition Introduction 1. On Fascist Lies 2. Truth and Mythology in the History of Fascism 3. Fascism Incarnate 4. Enemies of the Truth? 5. Truth and Power 6. Revelations 7. The Fascist Unconscious 8. Fascism against Psychoanalysis 9. Democracy and Dictatorship 10. The Forces of Destruction Epilogue: The Populist War against History Acknowledgments Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis study is a contribution to the debate concerning the relationship between Marx's project and Soviet society.Table of ContentsPreface; 1. Introduction; 2. Marx and the transition to socialism; 3. Engels, democracy and revolution; 4. Marxism and Revisionism; 5. The Russian revolutionary tradition; 6. Lenin and the Party; 7. Lenin and the dictatorship; 8. Conclusion; Notes; Select Bibliography; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book presents a new theory for why democracies and dictatorships emerge and then either survive or collapse. Scott Mainwaring and Aníbal Pérez-Liñán analyze the survival of political regimes in Latin America since 1900, arguing for a theory of democratization situated between explanations that emphasize long-term structural preconditions and short-term decisions by specific leaders.Trade Review'Democracies and Dictatorships in Latin America takes a comprehensive look at regime change in that region, explaining the surprising endurance of democracy there since the 1970s. Through a parsimonious yet comprehensive theory of democratization that is contrasted with other theories, Professors Mainwaring and Pérez-Liñán provide analysis that will revive interest in these topics. Well organized and well written, this timely book will be of interest to scholars, analytically oriented lay readers, and policy makers alike.' William R. Keech, Research Professor of Political Economy, Duke UniversityTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. A theory of regime change and durability; 3. Competitive regimes and authoritarianism in Latin America, 1900–2010; 4. Regime survival and fall: a quantitative test; 5. From breakdowns to stabilization of democracy: Argentina; 6. From persistent authoritarianism to democracy: El Salvador; 7. International actors, international influences, and regime outcomes; 8. The limits of the third wave, 1978–2010; 9. Rethinking theories of democratization.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book brings together the work of historians and political theorists to examine the complex relationship among nineteenth-century democracy, nationalism, and authoritarianism. Political thinkers were faced with a battery of new terms - 'Bonapartism', 'Caesarism', and 'Imperialism' among them - with which to make sense of their era.Table of ContentsPart I. Bonapartism to Its Contemporaries: 1. From consulate to empire: impetus and resistance Isser Woloch; 2. The Bonapartes and Germany T. C. W. Blanning; 3. Prussian conservatives and the problem of Bonapartism David E. Barclay; 4. Tocqueville and French nineteenth-century conceptualizations of the two Bonapartes and their empires Melvin Richter; 5. Marx and Brumaire Terrell Carver; 6. Bonapartism as the progenitor of democracy: the paradoxical case of the French Second Empire Sudhir Hazareesingh; Part II. Bonapartism, Caesarism, Totalitarianism: Twentieth-Century Experiences and Reflections: 7. Max Weber and the avatars of Caesarism Peter Baehr; 8. The concept of Caesarism in Gramsci Benedetto Fontana; 9. From constitutional technique to Caesarist ploy: Carl Schmitt on dictatorship, liberalism and emergency powers John P. McCormick; 10. Bonapartist and Gaullist heroic leadership: comparing crisis appeals to an impersonated people Jack Hayward; 11. The leader and the masses: Hannah Arendt on totalitarianism and dictatorship Margaret Canovan; Part III. Ancient Resonances: 12. Dictatorship in Rome Claude Nicolet; 13. From the historical Caesar to the spectre of Caesarism: the imperial administrator as internal threat Arthur M. Eckstein.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe New York Times bestselling author of The Benedict Option draws on the wisdom of Christian survivors of Soviet persecution to warn American Christians of approaching dangers.For years, émigrés from the former Soviet bloc have been telling Rod Dreher they see telltale signs of soft totalitarianism cropping up in America--something more Brave New World than Nineteen Eighty-Four. Identity politics are beginning to encroach on every aspect of life. Civil liberties are increasingly seen as a threat to safety. Progressives marginalize conservative, traditional Christians, and other dissenters. Technology and consumerism hasten the possibility of a corporate surveillance state. And the pandemic, having put millions out of work, leaves our country especially vulnerable to demagogic manipulation.In Live Not By Lies, Dreher amplifies the alarm sounded by the brave men and women who fought totalitarianism. He explai

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisConventional histories of modern Jewish politics emphasize the agency offered by Zionism, liberalism, and socialism. Kenneth B. Moss traces a darker reckoning with powerlessness amid grave dangers in Europe’s largest Jewish community, recovering a search for realism about minority experience, the nation-state, and the making of a future.Trade ReviewScholars of Jewish history have devoted a great deal of attention to interwar Poland as the site of a cultural efflorescence that emerged out of the devastation of World War I…Now Kenneth B. Moss…has come to complicate the story, in ways at once surprising and intuitive, in his new book An Unchosen People…The reluctant recourse to Zionism tells us a good deal about the limited agency and sense of futurelessness found among Polish Jews in this age of cultural pessimism. It is a story exceptionally well told…a brilliant affective history of Jewish political culture in interwar Poland…It is one of the merits of Moss’s fine book to show that, for Polish Jews even before the German invasion of 1939, immigration to Palestine was nothing more or less than a path of escape from a hellish abyss, the full depths of which they could not yet imagine. -- David N. Myers * Los Angeles Review of Books *An insightful, incisive, thoroughly documented study of how interwar Polish Jews understood their situation in real time…In a tour de force of investigation and erudition, [Moss] has uncovered troves of unpublished private correspondence, journals, notes, and memoranda that, taken together with a substantial body of published works, constitute an ongoing conversation in Yiddish, Polish, and Hebrew among some two dozen guiding figures who tried to predict where the increasingly treacherous currents might lead and what Jews might do in response. -- David Engel * Jewish Review of Books *An original, provocative, inspiring, challenging, and even haunting book. -- Piotr J. Wróbel * Journal of Modern History *Unsettling and important…The poignancy of this carefully researched and thoughtful volume lies not only in the story it recounts but in the way it surreptitiously causes the reader to reflect on the fragility of democracy and the rise of extrusionary nationalism in our day. -- Robert Brym * Canadian Jewish Studies *One of the most important studies of Polish Jewry to appear in years, An Unchosen People is a deeply original exploration of how Jewish political thought in interwar Poland grappled with rising antisemitism and a growing sense of Jewish vulnerability. -- Samuel D. Kassow, author of Who Will Write Our History?: Rediscovering a Hidden Archive from the Warsaw GhettoWith stunning erudition and deep compassion for its subjects, An Unchosen People portrays an interwar Polish-Jewish community shaped and sustained by a sense of desperation in the face of a bleak future. Moss’s book bristles with insights about the relationship between global economic crisis, political extremism, and Jewish national identifications in the twentieth century. -- Derek Penslar, author of Theodor Herzl: The Charismatic LeaderA profound, eloquently narrated study germane not only to the debates over the 1930s ‘Jewish Question’ but also to our engagement today with racism and political alienation. Moss makes clear that Jews were becoming increasingly convinced their identity-politics ideologies were no match for the incipient ethnochauvinism and fascism already ensconced in the politics of Central Europe. This is a work that resonates quite beyond Jewish history in addressing the precariousness of liberal and progressive ideals in illiberal times. -- Eli Lederhendler, The Hebrew University of JerusalemA brilliant new account of Jewish political thought and activism in interwar Poland. Moss tells a troubling story of how a politically, socially, and religiously diverse Jewish community confronted questions about belonging and the possibilities for a future in Poland, Palestine, or elsewhere abroad. In the process he reframes the history of Zionism, diasporism, and interwar Polish-Jewish life itself. This is essential reading for anyone interested in Jewish history, East European history, and the history of minorities in Europe and beyond. -- Tara Zahra, author of The Great Departure: Mass Migration from Eastern Europe and the Making of the Free WorldA landmark publication that brilliantly reinterprets the arc of Eastern European Jewish history. Well before the Holocaust, Moss demonstrates, Polish fascism and antisemitism had bankrupted every extant Jewish political ideology—from Communism to Zionism to liberalism to religious Orthodoxy—leaving Polish Jews a futureless people as they entered the fateful era of war and genocide. Never have we had such a fine-grained historical analysis of the Polish-Jewish predicament framed against the backdrop of the crisis of Western modernity. The result is a revelatory book. -- James Loeffler, author of Rooted Cosmopolitans: Jews and Human Rights in the Twentieth CenturyAn Unchosen People deftly illuminates the struggle of Polish Jews to come to terms with modernity in general and with the growing threat to their everyday existence in the crucial period of 1928–1935. Moss analyzes the complex arguments among Jews about how to meet the fearsome challenges of discrimination, racial antisemitism, and poverty that emerged with the Depression, the rise of Hitler, and the growing virulence of Polish nationalism. An essential read for any student of modern Polish-Jewish history. -- Norman M. Naimark, author of Stalin and the Fate of Europe: The Postwar Struggle for SovereigntyThis fascinating, masterfully written book is a breakthrough in our understanding of Jewish political thinking in interwar Poland. Moss shows both the devastating effects of ethnic nationalism and fascism on Polish Jews and the novel ways in which Jews reacted. An essential work for readers interested in Jewish politics in Eastern Europe and issues of emigration and transnationalism, as well as crucial background for Polish-Jewish relations before and during the Holocaust. -- Kamil Kijek, University of WrocławMoss has produced a grand history of Jewish political disillusionment—the equivalent of a photographic negative in which the polychromatic period of interwar Polish-Jewish history, full of cultural vitality, is transformed into a sepia-tinted frame marked by despair and fear for the future. In the spirit of Wilderson’s Afropessimism, Moss marshals his unparalleled skills as historian and thinker to capture an ominous and chilling moment of Judeopessimism. -- David N. Myers, coauthor of American Shtetl: The Making of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Village in Upstate New York

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen the Soviet Union collapsed, many hoped that Russia's centuries-long history of autocratic rule might finally end. This book traces the history of modern Russian politics from the Bolshevik Revolution to the presidency of Vladimir Putin.Trade Review"Western democracies often view the Russian political structure as something 'abnormal.' Zimmerman peels back this Western lens and looks systematically into Russian political history from Vladimir Lenin to Vladimir Putin. He delves into how a consolidated political structure solidified with each passing generation of rulers."--Library Journal "William Zimmerman's new book is perfectly timed to furnish a backdrop to this discussion, providing the first major overview of Russian leadership politics from 1917 to the present... Ruling Russia is written in a lively style, with flashes of humour."--Lara Cook, Times Higher Education "William Zimmerman ... has written an important book rich in historical detail."--Survival "This is a book for those who know a little about Soviet and Russian politics but who wish to gain a balanced and intelligent deeper understanding of the process of change that may one day end up with Russia becoming a 'normal' system."--Richard Sakwa, Russian Review "Zimmerman's book is a major contribution, which speaks to comparativists, Russia scholars, and the broader public alike."--Inga A.-L. Saikkonen, Democratization "Zimmerman's book is a welcome addition to the literature on comparative authoritarianism, and it is a unique contribution to the study of contemporary Russian politics in particular."--Kathryn Stoner, Political Science Quarterly "This is an important and impressive scholarly work... One would be hard-pressed to find another work that covers as much in just over 300 pages."--Paul Kubicek, Soviet and Post-Soviet ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 From Democratic Centralism to Democratic Centralism 14 Chapter 2 Alternative Mobilization Strategies, 1917-1934 43 Chapter 3 From Narrow Selectorate to Autocracy 75 Chapter 4 The Great Purge 102 Chapter 5 From Totalitarianism to Welfare Authoritarianism 130 Chapter 6 Uncertainty and "Democratization": The Evolution of Post-Brezhnevian Politics, 1982-1991 164 Chapter 7 Democratizing Russia, 1991-1997 196 Chapter 8 The Demise of Schumpeterian Democracy, the Return to Certainty, and Normal ("Full") Authoritarianism, 1998-2008 220 Chapter 9 The Return of Uncertainty? The 2011-2012 Electoral Cycle 267 Chapter 10 The Past and Future of Russian Authoritarianism 291 Selected Bibliography 311 Index 323

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen the Soviet Union collapsed, many hoped that Russia's centuries-long history of autocratic rule might finally end. Yet today's Russia appears to be retreating from democracy, not progressing toward it. Ruling Russia is the only book of its kind to trace the history of modern Russian politics from the Bolshevik Revolution to the presidency of VlTrade Review"Western democracies often view the Russian political structure as something 'abnormal.' Zimmerman peels back this Western lens and looks systematically into Russian political history from Vladimir Lenin to Vladimir Putin. He delves into how a consolidated political structure solidified with each passing generation of rulers."--Library Journal "William Zimmerman's new book is perfectly timed to furnish a backdrop to this discussion, providing the first major overview of Russian leadership politics from 1917 to the present... Ruling Russia is written in a lively style, with flashes of humour."--Lara Cook, Times Higher Education "William Zimmerman ... has written an important book rich in historical detail."--Survival "This is a book for those who know a little about Soviet and Russian politics but who wish to gain a balanced and intelligent deeper understanding of the process of change that may one day end up with Russia becoming a 'normal' system."--Richard Sakwa, Russian Review "Zimmerman's book is a major contribution, which speaks to comparativists, Russia scholars, and the broader public alike."--Inga A.-L. Saikkonen, Democratization "Zimmerman's book is a welcome addition to the literature on comparative authoritarianism, and it is a unique contribution to the study of contemporary Russian politics in particular."--Kathryn Stoner, Political Science Quarterly "This is an important and impressive scholarly work... One would be hard-pressed to find another work that covers as much in just over 300 pages."--Paul Kubicek, Soviet and Post-Soviet ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 From Democratic Centralism to Democratic Centralism 14 Chapter 2 Alternative Mobilization Strategies, 1917-1934 43 Chapter 3 From Narrow Selectorate to Autocracy 75 Chapter 4 The Great Purge 102 Chapter 5 From Totalitarianism to Welfare Authoritarianism 130 Chapter 6 Uncertainty and "Democratization": The Evolution of Post-Brezhnevian Politics, 1982-1991 164 Chapter 7 Democratizing Russia, 1991-1997 196 Chapter 8 The Demise of Schumpeterian Democracy, the Return to Certainty, and Normal ("Full") Authoritarianism, 1998-2008 220 Chapter 9 The Return of Uncertainty? The 2011-2012 Electoral Cycle 267 Chapter 10 The Past and Future of Russian Authoritarianism 291 Afterword to the Paperback Edition 311 Selected Bibliography 327 Index 339

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Ed A Hewett Book Prize, Association for Slavic, Eastern European, & Eurasian Studies""Rosenfeld’s book is essential reading for anyone interested in questions of development and democratisation. In its successful effort to illuminate the role of the middle class in promoting democracy, it should serve as an important reference point for future scholarship in the field. As such, it deserves wide attention."---Europe-Asia Studies, Zuzanna Brunarska"A must-read for anyone interested in autocratic politics. . . . The Autocratic Middle Class is a masterclass in the analysis of public opinion and an important contribution to the literature on autocratic politics and democratization.—Natalie Wenzell Letsa, Political Science Quarterly"

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Ed A Hewett Book Prize, Association for Slavic, Eastern European, & Eurasian Studies""Rosenfeld’s book is essential reading for anyone interested in questions of development and democratisation. In its successful effort to illuminate the role of the middle class in promoting democracy, it should serve as an important reference point for future scholarship in the field. As such, it deserves wide attention."---Europe-Asia Studies, Zuzanna Brunarska"A must-read for anyone interested in autocratic politics. . . . The Autocratic Middle Class is a masterclass in the analysis of public opinion and an important contribution to the literature on autocratic politics and democratization.—Natalie Wenzell Letsa, Political Science Quarterly"

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year""[A] compelling new book. . . . Renaud’s unique framework provides an extended chronology and account of the transnational dialectic between different leftwing groups that will be especially elucidating for readers in the United States."---Justin H. Vassallo, Boston Review ​​​​​​"Terence Renaud’s erudite book New Lefts: The Making of a Radical Tradition deserves recommendation both as an intervention in contemporary political discourses and as a foundational historical study of neoleftism in the twentieth century."---Emily Steinhauer, EuropeNow

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year""[A] compelling new book. . . . Renaud’s unique framework provides an extended chronology and account of the transnational dialectic between different leftwing groups that will be especially elucidating for readers in the United States."---Justin H. Vassallo, Boston Review ​​​​​​"Terence Renaud’s erudite book New Lefts: The Making of a Radical Tradition deserves recommendation both as an intervention in contemporary political discourses and as a foundational historical study of neoleftism in the twentieth century."---Emily Steinhauer, EuropeNow

Read more less

Book SynopsisHistorians and theorists debate the return of fascism, focusing on case studies from around the world.Trade Review'Spectres of Fascism illuminates the terrifying resurgence of right-wing populist politics around the world, examining a variety of case studies from different critical theoretical perspectives. Essential reading for anyone interested in the uncanny return of fascistic tendencies within contemporary capitalist democracies' -- John Abromeit, author of 'Max Horkheimer and the Foundations of the Frankfurt School''Like a specter, fascism is protean in form yet more than a return of the past. Spanning from history to critical theory, from aesthetics to politics, and approaching fascism on a global scale, this book argues for a mindful commitment to the struggles of the present' -- Enzo Traverso, author of 'The New Faces of Fascism: Populism and the Far Right''This timely book provides profound insights into the rise of fascism that is currently taking hold, once again, in our world. Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of fascist populist rhetoric will find in this intelligent work a satisfying richness of thought that gives us hope in these times of darkness' -- David Morgan, Psychoanalyst'Drawing on a variety of disciplines and theoretical foundations, this volume offers a profound and multifaceted account of political formations marked by perplexing and paradoxical sets of motives, commitments and aims' -- Ato Sekyi-Otu, author of author of 'Left Universalism, Africacentric Essays'Table of ContentsList of Figures Acknowledgements 1. Introduction - Samir Gandesha PART I - HISTORY 2. The “Hope of the Hopeless”: Contemporary Lessons from Marxist Struggles Against Hitler and Mussolini - Ingo Schmidt 3. The Future of Futurism: From the Avant-Garde to the Neo-Avant-Garde, or, How to Imagine Communism by Other Means - Jaleh Mansoor 4. The Aesthetics of Totalitarian Salvation - Alec Balasescu 5. Are the Alt-Right and French New Right Kindred Movements? - Tamir Bar-On PART II - THEORY 6. The Post-Democratic Horizon: Friend and Enemy in the Age of New Authoritarianism - Am Johal 7. Which Came First, Fascism or Misogyny? Reading Klaus Theweleit’s Male Fantasies - Laura U. Marks 8. “A Composite of King Kong and a Suburban Barber”: Adorno’s “Freudian Theory and the Pattern of Fascist Propaganda” - Samir Gandesha 9. So, You Want a Master? Psychoanalytic Considerations on the Intellectual’s Responsibility in Light of Traumatic Repetition - Hilda Fernandez-Alvarez 10. Micro-Fascism in the Age of Trump - Gary Genosko PART III - THE CONTEMPORARY HORIZON 11. Fascist Neoliberalism and Preventive Counter-Revolution: The Second Round of the Latin American Laboratory - Vladimir Safatle 12. Decolonizing the “Contemporary Left”?: An Indigenous Reflection on Justice in the New World Order - Patricia M. Barkaskas 13. The Outsider as Insider: Steve Bannon, Fourth Turnings, and the Neofascist Threat - Joan Braune 14. Populism, Fascism, Neoliberalism: Theorizing Contemporary India - Ajay Gudavarthy and Vijay Gudavarthy 15. Art Contra Politics: Liberal Spectacle, Fascist Resurgence - Johan F. Hartle Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisHistorians and theorists debate the return of fascism, focusing on case studies from around the world.Trade Review'Spectres of Fascism illuminates the terrifying resurgence of right-wing populist politics around the world, examining a variety of case studies from different critical theoretical perspectives. Essential reading for anyone interested in the uncanny return of fascistic tendencies within contemporary capitalist democracies' -- John Abromeit, author of 'Max Horkheimer and the Foundations of the Frankfurt School''Like a specter, fascism is protean in form yet more than a return of the past. Spanning from history to critical theory, from aesthetics to politics, and approaching fascism on a global scale, this book argues for a mindful commitment to the struggles of the present' -- Enzo Traverso, author of 'The New Faces of Fascism: Populism and the Far Right''This timely book provides profound insights into the rise of fascism that is currently taking hold, once again, in our world. Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of fascist populist rhetoric will find in this intelligent work a satisfying richness of thought that gives us hope in these times of darkness' -- David Morgan, Psychoanalyst'Drawing on a variety of disciplines and theoretical foundations, this volume offers a profound and multifaceted account of political formations marked by perplexing and paradoxical sets of motives, commitments and aims' -- Ato Sekyi-Otu, author of author of 'Left Universalism, Africacentric Essays'Table of ContentsList of Figures Acknowledgements 1. Introduction - Samir Gandesha PART I - HISTORY 2. The “Hope of the Hopeless”: Contemporary Lessons from Marxist Struggles Against Hitler and Mussolini - Ingo Schmidt 3. The Future of Futurism: From the Avant-Garde to the Neo-Avant-Garde, or, How to Imagine Communism by Other Means - Jaleh Mansoor 4. The Aesthetics of Totalitarian Salvation - Alec Balasescu 5. Are the Alt-Right and French New Right Kindred Movements? - Tamir Bar-On PART II - THEORY 6. The Post-Democratic Horizon: Friend and Enemy in the Age of New Authoritarianism - Am Johal 7. Which Came First, Fascism or Misogyny? Reading Klaus Theweleit’s Male Fantasies - Laura U. Marks 8. “A Composite of King Kong and a Suburban Barber”: Adorno’s “Freudian Theory and the Pattern of Fascist Propaganda” - Samir Gandesha 9. So, You Want a Master? Psychoanalytic Considerations on the Intellectual’s Responsibility in Light of Traumatic Repetition - Hilda Fernandez-Alvarez 10. Micro-Fascism in the Age of Trump - Gary Genosko PART III - THE CONTEMPORARY HORIZON 11. Fascist Neoliberalism and Preventive Counter-Revolution: The Second Round of the Latin American Laboratory - Vladimir Safatle 12. Decolonizing the “Contemporary Left”?: An Indigenous Reflection on Justice in the New World Order - Patricia M. Barkaskas 13. The Outsider as Insider: Steve Bannon, Fourth Turnings, and the Neofascist Threat - Joan Braune 14. Populism, Fascism, Neoliberalism: Theorizing Contemporary India - Ajay Gudavarthy and Vijay Gudavarthy 15. Art Contra Politics: Liberal Spectacle, Fascist Resurgence - Johan F. Hartle Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book examines the autocratic rulers and dynasties of classical Greece and Rome and the changing concepts of tyranny in political thought and culture.Table of Contents1. Introduction, Sian Lewis; Part I The Making of Tyranny; 2. Tyranny and Kingship in Archaic Rome, Fay Glinister; 3. Ducetius and Fifth-Century Sicilian Tyranny, Trinity Jackman; 4. Adfectatio regni in the Roman Republic, Christopher Smith; 5. Money and the Great Man: military power, aristocratic connections and mercenary service in the fourth century BC, Matthew Trundle; 6. From Agathocles to Hieron II: the birth and development of basileia in Hellenistic Sicily, Efrem Zambon; Part II Tyranny and Politics; 7. Tyrants and the Polis: urban development in the western Mediterranean, Kathryn Lomas; 8. Synchronicity: the local and the panhellenic within Sicilian tyranny, Sarah Harrell; 9. Alexander of Pherae: a model tyrant?, Slawomir Sprawski; Part III The Ideology of Tyranny; 10. Pindar and Kingship Theory, Simon Hornblower; 11. The Comic Pericles, James McGlew; 12. Tyrannical Oligarchs at Athens, Lynette Mitchell; 13. Plutarque et les tyrans siciliens, Claude Mosse; 14. Caesar tyrannos: Cicero's Platonic reckoning with the Roman dictator, Ingo Gildenhard; Part IV The Limits of Tyranny; 15. The Violence of the Thirty Tyrants, Andrew Wolpert; 16. The Limits of Autocracy in the Fourth-Century BC Persian Empire, Stephen Ruzicka; 17. Sulla the Weak Tyrant, Alexander Thein; Bibliography.

Read more less

Book Synopsis10 years since the eruption of the Arab Spring, El Mustapha Lahlali explores the dialectical relationship between discourse and social change during and post the conflict. In particular, he examines how Arabic public and political discourse shapes and is shaped by the wider social, cultural and political environment.

Read more less

Book Synopsis10 years after the eruption of the Arab revolutions, El Mustapha Lahlali explores the dialectical relationship between discourse and social change during and post the conflict. In particular, the book examines how Arabic public and political discourse shapes and is shaped by the wider social, cultural and political environment. Analysing the dialogue of various actors, Islamic parties and stakeholder ? as well as marginalised voices ? Arabic Political Discourse in Transition identifies the key linguistic strategies and features used to frame, represent and position oneself at times of conflict.

Read more less

Book SynopsisBetween 1970 and 1975 Jon Swain, the English journalist portrayed in David Puttnam''s film, The Killing Fields, lived in the lands of the Mekong river. This is his account of those years, and the way in which the tumultuous events affected his perceptions of life and death as Europe never could. He also describes the beauty of the Mekong landscape - the villages along its banks, surrounded by mangoes, bananas and coconuts, and the exquisite women, the odours of opium, and the region''s other face - that of violence and corruption.Trade ReviewA remarkable heart-breaking book -- Gavin YoungJon Swain's powerful and moving book goes further than anything else I have read towards explaining the appeal of Indo-China and its tragic conflicts... A brilliant and unsettling examination of the age-old bonds between death, beauty, violence and the imagination, which came together in Vietnam and nowhere else -- J. G. Ballard * Sunday Times *An absolutely riveting book... Haunting, compulsive and beautifully written, River of Time looks set to become a classic -- Alexander Frater * Observer *His book is a damning indictment and a triumphant witness. Brief, wrenching, it is surely the freshest and most sensitive account of those times -- Michael Binyon * The Times *A sombre, magnificent book * Daily Mail *

Read more less